“For me, it was really hard to be a doctor and get the career done while I was curling. But playing curling helped me set my goal. I said, “I really want to be a doctor, so I will do it!” I took it as a game. Every day – game, after game, after game, and it really helped,” she says.
Irantzu believes having experience in every aspect of the sport has made her a better player. Something she hopes will help her in reaching her next goal, competing at the 2022
Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China.
“You understand every part of the sport,” she says. “Especially since I went to the Paralympics, I said, “I want to be there.” It’s going to be a really hard process. We know that in Spain, we don’t really have access to the ice rinks like we should. So, it’s a lot of planning.”
Even though the success of mixed doubles in its Olympics debut is still fresh in people’s minds, the preparation for the next Olympic cycle starts now. Irantzu knows to have a fighting chance at playing in the Olympic games, she may have to make some big life changes.
“We are thinking about maybe moving to another curling country because that’s the only way we can really get there and play the top teams,” she says.
Despite curling in Spain, a less traditional curling country, Irantzu still has to earn her spot on the roster at the world championship each year. She’s been playing alongside her brother, Gontzal Garcia, for the last four years, and before that, her cousin. The pair have been competing against 15 teams in the national event and facing the same team in the final for the last five years.
